NORTHFIELD – A man who was using a power tool to cut into a propane cylinder Monday night suffered life-threatening burns to his face and upper body, authorities said.

The man, whom fire officials would not identify, was cutting into the propane cylinder which he apparently thought was free of the explosive gas, said Tilton-Northfield Fire Department Capt. Timothy Ames.

Gas in the cylinder exploded, burning the man severely and causing a small fire at the site of the explosion, he said.

“He was cutting into it with the intention of recycling it,” Ames said. “I don’t think he does it for a living, but there were a few propane (cylinders) there that he had cut into.”

Ames said the man is a “late 30-year-old” who may live in the area of the 25 Granite St. home where the incident occurred.

Fire crews were called to the scene at about 9:30 p.m. for a report of an outside fire with burn injuries to one person’s face.

Ames would not comment on whether the man was conscious and alert when firefighters arrived on the scene. He said the man’s injuries were severe and life-threatening.

“When someone has burns to the upper body that severe, it is considered severe and life-threatening,” he said.

The man was taken to Franklin Regional Hospital from which a helicopter airlifted him to a hospital to the south of town, said Ames, who said he wasn’t sure which hospital to which the man was sent.